Memorial Day: The Great American Anamnesis

American Anamnesis

The film, Saving Private Ryan begins with private Ryan as an old man arriving at the Normandy American cemetery. As he walks ahead of his family through the white crosses and Stars of David, marking the graves of those who gave all, he arrives at a certain grave that causes him to collapse to his hands and knees. Now sobbing, his family comes from behind to place their hands on his shoulders as the camera zooms in on his eyes. The sounds of the invasion of Normandy grow louder then suddenly the viewer is brought fully into the anamnesis of Ryan. The invasion scene, one of the most intense military scenes in the history of films, begins. For Ryan, it is real. He can hear the sights and sounds, the smell of blood mingling in the saltwater and sand as the waves of the English Chanel crash behind him. He is back, it is 'real' and the carnage all around is overwhelming.

For many veterans who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder Memorial Day is every day. It is for them an anamnesis because the memories trigger within their imagination a deeply emotional and vivid experience. Their sacrifice for the country is ongoing.

As the saying goes, some gave all, all gave some. For those American soldiers who made it back from foreign wars like my father-in-law who served in Vietnam, there is an overwhelming sense of gratitude that weighs them down. It is a cost which they can never fully pay and consequently they are left with a feeling that they should not have been the one to survive. He never wanted to talk about his time in Vietnam because war is terrible. For him and for many other veterans, their war time experiences are a private anamnesis full of anguish and pain. It is not that they are lacking patriotism or pride in their American nation but that they are conflicted and hampered by the totality of the warrior burden. 

It is easier for those of us civilians who learn about, appreciate and remember the sacrifices of our soldiers when we study history. From a distance we can reconcile and appreciate those who fought fiercely as a necessary compromise due to the fall of man from the beginning. Because evil thrives when there is an absence of good men who resist it at all costs, American military history is full of examples of moral violence done by an otherwise non-violent, mostly Christian, God fearing people. Regrettably, war is sometimes a necessary compromise we are forced to make in our fallen world. This is why the Catholic Faith has a Just War theory. 

Catholic Anamnesis

There are two very important Greek words that unlock the depth of supernatural mystery within Catholic Mass. These are anamnesis and epiclesis. 

Anamnesis means memorial or remembrance. Throughout the biblical progression of covenants God established various memorials so that the people would never forget the saving actions of the Lord. One such memorial was established as a sacrificial meal in the Passover. Each year the Jews are to commemorate the crossing of the Red Sea into freedom recounted in the name and in the book of Exodus. The foods that are eaten during the Passover meal are meant to trigger a memory of the original event through their scent, texture and taste. The ancient Jews had a scientific insight here because it turns out that the part of our brain that controls our memory is located next to the part that controls our sense of smell and sense of taste. 

This is why a certain smell will trigger a deeply etched memory from one’s youth. There’s a certain perfume that when I inhale it I am brought back to kindergarten placing felt symbols on a velvet green board as my very nice teacher encourages me. That is an example of anamnesis because it is not simply an event I recall, rather it is an event that I enter into with my imagination and emotion as if it were real. 

Epiclesis is the part in Mass when the priest calls down of the Holy Spirit over the gifts of bread and wine to make them holy so that they may become the Body and Blood of Christ. Through the action of the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ saving act of his suffering, death, resurrection and ascension is brought into the present moment with his Real Presence on the altar. When applied to Catholic Mass, the concept of anamnesis switches from a function of the brain to a theological mystery. The presence and action of the Holy Spirit is what makes the Real Presence possible.

The power of the Holy Spirit in epiclesis and the memory of Jesus’ great act of love in the anamnesis inspires in us give thanks and praise as we lift up our hearts and become a living offering spirtiually on the altar with Jesus. Not only does Jesus want us to remember (Do this in memory of me)  but he wants us to participate in his work of redemption. Liturgy is the people of God participating in the work of God which is no longer a past event but one that we enter into as it enters into our present time.  

Is it possible for the dreaded anamnesis of war to be blessed by a glorious epiclesis of the Holy Spirit? I offer as a proof that it can be in the following letter that president Abraham Lincoln wrote to Mrs. Bixby the mother who was thought to have lost all five of her sons in the American Civil War.

Executive Mansion,
Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.

Dear Madam,--

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,

A. Lincoln

When the memorial of the soldier’s sacrifice is put this way, we remember the words of our Lord, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one's friends” -Jn 15:13. The American soldier who has given all can indeed be assured that his sacrifice was not in vain if there truly is an altar of freedom. That altar of freedom elevates the self-sacrificial love that one has for one’s country and one’s family and friends. To fight and die for love is the greatest act of patriotism that one could undertake. When aligned to the cross it becomes a sacred act for that individual. 

On Memorial Day, as Americans we have a duty to offer an epiclesis or a powerful prayer calling down the Spirit of Truth to bless and honor their sacrifices which were placed on the altar of freedom.  We ought to enter into this Great American Anamnesis we call Memorial Day and allow it to provoke within our hearts a profound and sincere prayer of gratitude and praise. Thank you for all who serve and for all who have given everything for the love of our great country.

As a way to honor your sacrifice we Americans who still believe in the altar of freedom will strive to make our lives more about service and love. We ask God to enable us to live our lives as if those sacrifices and blood shed on our behalf were worth it. Like private Ryan in the closing scene when his anamnesis temporarily comes to an end he is an old man again looking at the graves all around him. We all share his epiclesis moment and his deep dept of gratitude. Today we echo his words as he turns to his wife and says, “Tell me I have led a good life. Tell me I am a good man”.